Meditations & Affirmations for Anxiety

I used to have this preconceived notion that Meditation and Affirmations were for a bunch of hippie people who wanted to be “One with the Universe”. I didn’t think there was any part of it for me, or it would be anything that could remotely help me with managing my Postpartum Anxiety or Postpartum Depression.

It wasn’t recommended to me by a doctor or my therapist. It was something that I looked into when I had built the foundation blocks of my health up to a point where I could look for “what else”.

What else could I do?
What else could I try?
What else could help me manage these attacks?

So while I went into Meditation and Affirmations judgy and not entirely open, it allowed me to see a whole different side of life. A life that is full of calmness and clarity. A life that relishes in quiet spaces and powerful words. A life that was completely under my control- no one elses. The more I did it, the less angry I was, the less argumentative, the more I listened to others, and the more I began to love myself and the people around me. Kindness flooded in when I wanted to live in the dark. And that’s what meditation and affirmations meant for me.

So it can be really hard to figure out what fits and what doesn’t and where to go when you want to try new things. So to help with the information overload on the intrawebs- I’m going to share with you some of my FAVORITE tips and tools with you, so that you can hopefully find one that works for you.

Favorite Phone Apps:These are all iphone apps, but I am sure there is something similar with android

#1 – Headspace – I used this to get started. I didn’t like how there isn’t really a “free” option after your 10 day trial, but this broke meditation down to a whole new level for me and made me realize it isn’t about “not thinking” it’s about not “fighting” the thoughts.

#2 – Insight Timer – I love that this is FREE and I love that you can search by topic, length, or what you WANT out of a meditation session. My daughter loves to do the kid ones when she’s feeling super overwhelmed, so I particularly love those as well.

Affirmations were a whole different ballpark, but the more I dived into meditation, the more I realized they go hand in hand. Many people view affirmations as words you speak to yourself in order to shift your subconscious. For example, when I was in the middle of an anxiety attack, I would repeat “I choose calm over anxiety” over and over again until my chest stopped pounding.

I found repeating “mantras” daily a little less attainable for me, and instead I try and work in mindfulness during a meditation session or when I’m in the midst of an anxious moment or stressful moment. For example when my daughter is screaming at me at the top of her lungs, I step into another room- take 5-10 deep breathes and say “love, just love” until I don’t feel like I want to scream at her.

That’s just to get you started. So you have a base point, and then YOU allow yourself to pull and move into whatever direction you need to during your meditation or affirmation journey.

Do you meditate? How has it helped you? If you’d like to learn more about other holistic opportunities to dealing with mood management- connect with me here.